Benson, Pennock honored for distinguished service

Oct. 19, 2007

KALAMAZOO--Dr. John W. Benson,
a longtime Spanish language professor, and Rob Pennock,
associate director of Miller Auditorium, will be honored Oct. 25
as this year's recipients of Western Michigan University's Distinguished
Service Awards.

The pair will be among those honored at the University's annual
Academic Convocation, which will be held at 3:30 p.m. Thursday,
Oct. 25, in the Dalton Center Recital Hall. The event will feature
WMU President John M. Dunn's first State of the University address
as well as the presentation of a several campuswide awards. Also
honored that day will be WMU's Distinguished Faculty Scholar,
Emerging Scholar and Distinguished Teaching award recipients.

As winners of the Distinguished Service Award, Benson and
Pennock join a list of 41 faculty and staff members who have
received the accolade since it was established in 1980. Each
of the recipients will receive a plaque and a $2,000 honorarium.
The two were chosen from among award candidates campuswide who
were nominated for service through innovative and effective programs
or in areas that extend the impact and presence of the University
into the larger community.

John W. Benson, a member of the faculty since 1974,
served as chair first of the Department of Foreign Languages
and then the Department of Spanish for a total of 13 years. He
for was cited for his service to students, fairness, ability
to mentor new faculty members, and the creation of study abroad
programs that provide "life-changing" experiences for
U.S. students and opportunities for students in other nations.

Many current faculty members writing in support of his nomination
said that they had joined the WMU faculty because of Benson.
One faculty member, who was hired and advanced to full professor
during Benson's 13 years as department chair, pointed to his
guidance as a significant factor in the success of young colleagues.

"John taught us to become dedicated educators, scholars
and leaders through his encouragement, patience, trust and foremost,
his passion and enthusiasm for our profession," one such
colleague wrote. "He set expectations high and inspired
us to meet them by his own example."

Another colleague wrote of Benson's legendary advocacy for
all graduate students and his special generosity toward international
students.

"I don't know anyone at WMU who has been a tougher advocate
for graduate students' needs, or who has fought harder to make
the lives of our graduate students better," that colleague
wrote. "This was especially true in the case of our international
students; very often the new international students stayed in
his home for days, even weeks, until they were able to find an
apartment."

A former department member wrote, "Dr. Benson's crowning
service achievement undoubtedly has been the channeling of his
one passion for world travel into creating first-rate study abroad
experiences for WMU students."

Rob Pennock has been associate director of Miller Auditorium
since 2004. After a career as a financial officer with a number
of private sector firms, he first joined the Miller staff in
1997 as business manager, then left to serve in the same role
in WMU's College of Aviation before rejoining the Miller staff
in his current role.

Pennock was lauded by those nominating him for his ability
to "do it all," from assisting other units in his division
with his business acumen to serving as an advisor to student
groups and a mentor to individual students.

"He faces every challenge with enthusiasm and believes
there is nothing that can't be solved with a little ingenuity,
team work and a dose of humor," wrote one colleague who
supported his nomination. "His dedication to the University
and the offices he works for is unmatched."

Another colleague wrote of Pennock's role in helping Miller
Auditorium meet success as it takes on more and more complex
programming and scheduling challenges.

"Rob was the driving force in helping to take Miller
Auditorium to the next level of excellence in programming when
Miller presented 'Phantom of the Opera,'" the colleague
noted. "When WMU's commencement and the Gilmore Keyboard
Festival had to be moved, he coordinated the move of two very
complicated events with ease. Logistically, it was a huge undertaking
requiring attention to detail and careful planning, working with
many groups on and off campus. His attitude is "can do,"
no matter what the task. He is a people person and has a way
of motivating others to get any job done efficiently. He is professional,
eternally optimistic and always finds the humor in any situation."